Scores
of actors, writers, musicians and great thinkers have spent time
ruminating about their particular craft while guests at the famed Hotel
Chelsea. One of their resident over achievers, Dylan Thomas helped to
bequest legendary status upon the White Horse Tavern. Having reviewed
the list of notables that lodged on 23rd Street, I concluded that most
shared Thomas’s predisposition toward drink. This leads me to believe
that while the Welshman drank at the White Horse most everyone else
took their leisure at Peter McManus
Café. This bit of
speculation is
not without some firsthand evidence.

During the late 1980s I spent a fair amount of time on both sides of
that storied bar on the corner of 19th Street and 7th Ave, and
celebrity carousing was part and parcel of this Chelsea pub. While many
other Manhattan settings have bolstered their bottom line on the notion
that some famed individual had graced their mahogany slopes, no mere
immortal of the stage or screen could upstage the cast of indigenous
characters that have been slapping glass to wood at this locale since
1936. The appeal and strength of this establishment can be attributed
to its egalitarian philosophy, and the three generations of family that
have made it their mission to assure that all who enter this house will
be treated as equals. I was privileged to know and work alongside two
of those generations. Sadly, James McManus Sr. passed away in 2001. His
son James Jr. affectionately known as “Jamo” has taken up the watch.

It
is the philosophy of the McManus family that all patrons are created
equal.

That
vigil will include riding herd over the usual amount of mischief
and mayhem that occurs on this type of turf. During my time behind the
stick I witnessed some extraordinary examples of human shortcomings and
confrontations. But mostly that stewardship will be about maintaining
those traditions that are unique to this neighborhood setting.

Twice a year on a Sunday, 19th Street is closed to traffic so that the
regulars and their families can engage in a daylong game of stickball.
Beer, soda and hotdogs are provided free of charge by McManus’s. Every
Thanksgiving the bar serves turkey dinners at no cost to those patrons
that do not have the advantage of a traditional family gathering.

The backroom

Three generations
of McManus

Like
a lot of other watering holes in New York City, Peter McManus
Café
has all the key ingredients that would garner it a prime position in
anyone’s directory of great places to imbibe. The punch list of
expected physical attributes is complete. There is of course the
classic wood bar, tin ceilings, tiled floors, black and white photos, a
fish tank, old phone booths and a smattering of Tiffany glass. There
are rumors of a sordid past that include talk of a speakeasy and an
illicit business relationship with the gangster, Dutch Shultz. Then,
there are those continued sightings of Hollywood elite coupled to the
fact that the place remains a favored location for both film and
television.

But what truly makes McManus’s one of the greatest bars in New York
City and well beyond the five boroughs are those acts of generosity and
kindness by the family and staff: stickball on a Sunday, turkey on a
Thursday and a good time on any day!

Pull up a stool, you're one of the
folks.

PETER
McMANUS CAFE

152 7th Avenue at 19th Street
New York, New York 10011
(212) 929-9691

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